The proposed merger of Indonesian operators Hutchison 3 Indonesia (Tri) and Indosat Ooredoo has been formally cleared by the country’s Ministry of Communication and Information.
IndoTelko reports that the ministry – known locally as KemKomInfo – advised the Minister of Communications and Informatics to approve the application following an assessment. The regulator stipulated that going forward, the operators must “pay attention to the principles of consumer protection, maintain a healthy business competition climate and not engage in discriminatory business practices.”
The merged unit will be branded as Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (IOH), and will take second place in the Indonesian mobile market behind Telkomsel. CommsUpdate reports that IOH’s estimated annual revenue will be approximately US$3 billion, with the merger set to realise annual savings of between US$300 million and US$400 million across the next three to five years.
KemKomInfo stressed that its approval was contingent on IOH meeting several conditions. Leading up to 2025, the operator is obliged to expand cellular services to cover an agreed number of settlements as well as meeting site deployment quotas and service quality targets.
In addition, IOH has been granted one year to continue using a portion of spectrum - 5MHz FDD (2×5MHz = 10MHz) in the 2100MHz band – before returning this holding to the government.
